What are climate services for? Social practices, adaptation, and the dynamics of demand

Societies use climate services as part of their mitigation and adaptation strategies to a changing climate (e.g., Cortekar et al., 2016; Vaughan and Dessai, 2014; Scott, Lemieux and Malon, 2011), and have been defined and framed around particular single applications or sectors, either agriculture, health, energy, water management or disaster risk management (WMO, 2009, Council, 2001)- just to mention a few. Whilst this can bring potential benefits such as high specialization and adaptation (WMO, 2019; Lemos, 2015), co-benefits of articulated climate services among different sectors have not been fully assessed in the broader societal system, where these are developed and implemented. Understanding and valuing the nexus between the sectors during the design, development and implementation of climate services might help project optimization, and eventually benefit the community, country, entire region or society.Climate services ecosystems are defined -slightly modifying the business-perspective definition of Vargo and Akaka (2012)- as relatively self-contained, self-adjusting systems of resource-integrating actors connected by shared institutional goals, and mutual-value creation through exchange of climate services (Goddard, Gonzalez Romero, et al., 2020). In other words, a climate-services ecosystem involves interactions between different sectors sharing the same or similar climate services, which enhances resilience, and lends efficiency and value, by optimally orchestrating the available solutions. These ecosystems tend to be more robust to climate impacts than a collection of climate services focused on certain applications or just one sector, because shocks to one part of the ecosystem are redistributed and dampened through the entire network. Since by definition these ecosystems take advantage of existing climate services in different society-relevant sectors, the overall benefit is directly dependent on the ecosystem configuration itself. The ability to scale high-quality climate services, not just to other locations but to other sectors, and the ability for these climate-service networks to organize into ecosystems is hypothesized to be a crucial ingredient to resilience in the face of climate variability and change, given that resources are finite.The analysis of the ecosystems though Dynamical Casual Network Theory allows us to understand, characterize and forsee potential behaviour and changes in relationships between the elements of the networks, supporting the decision-making processes within. In combination with projects like Climateurope2, this concept of climate services ecosystems can help with the standardization of climate services.

Enhancing national climate services: How systems thinking can accelerate locally led adaptation

Towards the development of climate adaptation knowledge-action systems in the European Union: An institutional approach to climate service analysis

Climate adaptation services

This study discusses the application of service-learning theory in social practice in Chinese universities. By analyzing two typical case studies from Nankai University and Sichuan University, it reveals the ways of applying service-learning theory in Chinese university social practice, the implementation path and its positive effects on college students, universities and communities. The results show that the application of service-learning theory in Chinese social practice not only significantly improves college students' academic understanding and sense of civic responsibility, but also demonstrates positive results in cultivating college students' practical skills, interpersonal skills, and teamwork spirit and so on. At the same time, the university and the community have achieved two-way reciprocity. This study further points out that the application of service-learning theory to social practice can make up for the current problems of single content, weak reflection, and unsatisfactory results of social practice programs in Chinese universities. Based on this, the study proposes specific recommendations to promote the integration of service-learning theory and social practice, including emphasizing the education of civic responsibility, increasing social support, and strengthening the effective application of reflection mechanisms, which provide a new theoretical basis and practical strategy for improving the quality of social practice education in Chinese universities.

Society is experiencing the increasingly frequent and severe impacts of climate change and natural climate variability, and needs to prepare. In response to that, European (and non-European) research institutions, private companies, policymakers, funding bodies, and other stakeholders, are becoming more and more concerned about the importance of having quality climate information for supporting decision-making. In this sense, climate services are a key element for adaptation to and mitigation of anthropogenic climate change.Information relevant in the climate services field includes both quantitative data (e.g. measurements of climate variables, uncertainty, etc.) and qualitative data (e.g. stakeholders’ contexts, topics of interest, etc.). Qualitative data refers to non-numerical, descriptive data that captures information, characteristics, or attributes of a phenomenon, allowing for a deeper understanding of certain topics. The increased volume of available qualitative data, together with the advances in computational social sciences in the latest years, have revolutionized the way society is studied. Computational methods can assist in uncovering, for example, themes, patterns, insights, and relationships.This poster presents the application of a computational approach for the systematic identification, collection, storage, and analysis of social sciences data and information, in this case related to the field of climate services. The objective is to understand the current landscape of climate services in Europe, and the stakeholders involved, in order to build an equitable community encompassing providers and users of climate services.Various sources of information related to the provision of climate information and services exist. In this use case, we have focused on examining the EU-funded projects (number of projects, funding programmes and topics, participating institutions, etc.) related to climate services and climate information that are listed in CORDIS (the European Commission's platform on the results of projects funded by the EU's Research and Innovation framework programs).In addition to the methodology used, some preliminary results obtained from the analyses are shown, illustrating the evolution in the number of these projects, which has recently been growing, as well as the institutions involved by country and type of organization. We believe that these results can be a good indicator of the importance being given in Europe to climate services as tools to support communities, organizations, and institutions in adapting to climate change and variability.This is valuable information for the Climateurope2 project (which aims to support the community of climate services and develop recommendations for standardizing them) as it allows the identification of potential already existing projects and institutions that Climateurope2 could engage with. It also indicates where more emphasis needs to be placed on communicating the importance of climate services for decision-making.

Climate change induced sea-level rise poses serious threats to coastal regions across the world and the communities in the low-lying coastal regions are at high risk. Building capacities of coastal communities to adapt to sea-level rise are increasingly high priorities for low-lying coastal regions. Climate services are believed to be a powerful mechanism to build capacities of communities, particularly at the local level. It focuses on the connection between climate science and public demand for information and services. In this context, this chapter emphasizes the importance of community-based climate services that build the capacities of local communities to prepare, manage and adapt to rising sea-levels. This study has put forth three research questions such as (1) what services do the coastal communities require; (2) how these services need to be delivered; (3) what are all the roles of climate services that can help in building capacities of coastal communities and involve them in the community-based adaptation decision-making process? This study has adopted the methodology following the recommendations and guidelines of the UNFCCC, the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) and Fifth Assessment Report of IPCC, on climate information and services. As a result, this study has introduced BASIEC (Building capacities for Adaptation to Sea-level rise through Information, Education and Communication for coastal communities), a coastal climate service framework for community-based adaptation to rising sea-levels. The framework emerges from theoretical and empirical knowledge of community-based climate services and offers a holistic approach for integrating information, communication and education through the lens of climate change and sea-level rise. Thus, it provides a systematic starting point and guidance for local level coastal climate policy planners, decision-makers, researchers, local communities and others who hold a stake on coastal climate services for community-based adaptation to changing climate in general and sea-level rise in particular.

<p>The landscape of climate services development and implementation is rapidly evolving and expanding across sectors and countries in the Eastern Africa region. However, very little is known about the how, when, if and by whom the climate information is used. To address this gap, we deployed an online regional survey across 11 countries in Eastern Africa with a wide range of information producers and users, and a total of 629 responses were received. This provided us a snapshot of the state of climate services in the region including an understanding on the use of existing services across countries and sectors provided by regional and national meteorological centres, the improvements required to increase their uptake and use as well as the new services needed. Our findings further revealed an appetite for sector and country specific tailored services alongside enhancement (skill, resolution, and visualisation), timely delivery products, and access to specific existing services. We also found that regional, national, and sub-national climate outlook forums can be further improved to provide not only timely seasonal climate information but to serve as an interface where sector experts and service users can benefit from iterative interactions. Our paper identifies opportunities for improving existing climate information products and services, as perceived by information users. Importantly, we identify how different channels of communication could be leveraged for the successful provision of existing climate services. This research, while novel in its scope, is important for informing future climate services research and implementation in this complex region of global importance.</p>

Scientists need to acknowledge the inherent social contexts that drive the scientific process if they want their research to improve complex societal problems such as vulnerability to climate change. Social interactions and relationships are essential elements for conducting use-inspired research, creating usable knowledge, and providing climate services. The Climate Assessment for the Southwest (CLIMAS) program was founded on theories of use-inspired research and co-producing knowledge with non-academic partners. A recent program evaluation illuminated gaps in these underlying program models and led to the inclusion of social learning systems theory and communities of practice. Using grounded examples, we demonstrate the CLIMAS program’s ongoing role in fostering, maintaining, and expanding a climate resilience social learning system in the U.S. Southwest. Broader implications from the evaluation focus on the importance of establishing and maintaining relationships, increasing institutional and individual flexibility in response to change, and improving the practice of transdisciplinarity. These findings inform new program evaluation metrics and data collection techniques. This paper contributes to current theory and practice of use-inspired science and climate services by identifying and demonstrating how social interactions inform climate knowledge production. The reconceptualization of the CLIMAS program as part of a growing regional social learning system serves as an example for similar types of programs. We encourage climate services and use-inspired research programs to explore applications of this framework to their own operations.

The use of climate services in agriculture to improve both tactical and strategic management decisions on farm is an area of increasing societal interest and technological development in Australia, as climate change increases climate variability and risk. Yet the focus of most uses of climate services remains on weather and seasonal forecasts and tactical farm responses, with longer term climate projections less often empirically examined. In this paper we analyse 25 interviews with farmers in Australia and use social practice theory to compare farm risk management decisions utilising short-term weather forecasting and longer-term climate projection planning. We identify different elements of climate risk management as a social practice, looking particularly at materials (objects and tools), meanings (beliefs and thinking) and competencies (skills and knowledge) associated with climate services. We find that there are significant differences in how decisions are made using different temporal data scales and furthermore, that there are large gaps in the materials, meaning and competencies for the use of longer-term climate projections. This analysis allows us to clearly identify opportunities for the agricultural sector in Australia, and globally, to better support decisions in both weather and climate timeframes by treating these as distinctly different capabilities and addressing the different elements of social practice outlined here.

This article describes a capacity-building initiative in Posadas, Misiones, Argentina, focused on training non-meteorological agents for co-creating climate services. Through a comprehensive training course in 2024 for multisectoral actors, participants gained knowledge about sustainability and learned to develop indicators tailored to local realities. Leveraging the expertise of researchers, the project applied WMO’s Competency Frameworks for providing Climate Services to various territorial actors, ensuring tailored solutions. The initiative fostered a dynamic space for stakeholder exchange, facilitating collaboration and innovative approaches to addressing climate challenges. Insights from this dual-purpose initiative, a capacity-building workshop and an early co-creation stage shed light on the importance of grassroots engagement, community involvement, and interdisciplinary collaboration in promoting sustainability and resilience in the face of climate variability and change. The research results highlight how meteorological and climatic conditions impact various sectors, providing insights into sector-specific vulnerabilities and challenges. Additionally, the study identifies adaptation measures across different time scales, addressing both short-term responses and long-term strategies to enhance resilience.

A variable and changing climate where uncertainties exist regarding its future extremes requires better quantity, quality and accessible information that support planning and decision-making processes, as well as infrastructure that can take changing conditions into account. New advances in science and technology have provided higher reliability in climate information, more resilient infrastructure and better insights into managing climate risks and opportunities. New practices and tailored climate information and adapted infrastructure-Climate Services-would be able to accelerate and strengthen the process in order to meet the growing demands for useful and usable climate information. In the LAC region, a vision for the development and implementation of climate services has been developed with a vision of integrating climate information into decisionmaking in socioeconomic sectors, through an effective dialogue between providers and users on the range, timing, quality, content and delivery format of climate products and services. Developing and effectively deploying climate information and climate-adapted infrastructure is an important challenge for the water sector in the LAC region. An effective response to this challenge must integrate meeting the needs of the users of such climate services and building capacity in the existing and next-generation of scientists, practitioners, managers and policy makers. With this in mind, this paper focuses on information and infrastructure activities within the overall framework of climate services for the LAC region.

Informing climate services in Africa through climate change risk perceptions

The study re-affirmed that the economy of IGAD region as very vulnerable to climate change. The vulnerability of population to climate change is exacerbated by the structural issues that reinforces poverty, inequality and deprivation in the society, making the poor most impacted. Climate variability, ranging from unpredictable, intense and at times extreme weather events such as droughts, floods and landslides, are on the rise, and a likely trend for years ahead, threatening ecosystems and livelihoods at alarming rates. The region is experiencing increasing frequency and intensity of droughts and floods, putting the livelihoods of many at risks and also testing the legitimacy of national governments as custodian of social services for their citizens. Repeated failed weather inform of prolonged droughts are becoming a regional new normal, a trend that is worrying for poverty alleviation efforts of achieving the national social economic transformation such as ongoing 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, working towards African Union (AU) agenda 2063, and could reverse the past gains across member states in elimination of hunger and poverty. Kenya and Uganda targeted in this assessment, lose annually on average of US$56.96 million and US$ 113.86 million respectively to natural disasters related damages resulting from droughts, mudslides, and floods among others. In the coming century (2100), Kenya is projected to lose about 7.2% of its GDP (US$ 18.8 billion), while Uganda 6.3% of GDP (US$ 9.5 billions) annually to climate disasters. However, the provision of climate services inform of early warning and decision advisory in production system would significantly reduce the levels of these losses across all sectors. For examples: Economically, improvements of climate services has been linked to: 1) Agricultural sector (avoidance of crop losses from unsuitable weather; timing of crop protection, planning and harvesting; increased farm production and scales; more efficient scheduling of the use of agricultural machinery, minimization of drought relief costs. In air transport (aviation), reduced fuel consumption through route planning, improved scheduling of flight arrival and departures; minimization of airline costs from aircraft diversions; minimization of search and rescue costs; reduction of accidents and emission; saving in passenger times, materials and working times (airport maintenance). In marine transport (reduction of accidents and environmental damages, fuel savings, more efficient rescue operations). In oil prospecting (avoidance of unnecessary shutdown of offshore oil and gas operations; more efficient planning of energy production and diversity). In energy sector (Prediction of power demands, power failure reduction, savings in material and working times (maintenance), energy savings). In construction sector (potential to eliminate serious construction problems a priori (risk control system). In flood/humanitarian protection (savings in human lives and property, more efficient rescue operations. Socially: protection of life and property through avoidance of loss of life and property from natural disasters. In research, improved information and data to the scientific community. Leisure: Contribution to the day-to-day safety, comfort, enjoyment and general convenience of citizens, including recreation, travel/ commuting and other direct and indirect forms of societal benefits. Environmentally: In terms of air quality monitoring and warnings; Reducing adverse health impacts; saving human lives in possible environmental accidents (evacuations); minimization of release of toxic substances and other pollutants; management of local environmental quality. The World Bank estimates that upgrading climate services e.g. hydromet development could reduce the levels of disaster losses by about 10% for low-income countries, such as Uganda; a 20% reduction in lower middle income (e.g. Kenya), 50% in upper middle income, and 100% in high income (OECD) countries. Across all the models applied in these estimations i.e. the 'Benefit Transfers' and 'Avoided loss' methods, the provision of climate services have all yielded positive results in both short and long term in climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts across these economies. In a short and medium run, Uganda is capable of avoiding an estimated US$11.39 million per year to economic losses from natural disasters by strengthening early warning systems through climate services. This is about 0.028% of its GDP losses avoided per year to climate disasters. These gains are even higher, where the systems are upgraded to European standards (100%), saving the country almost US$113.86 million per year to avoid economic loss.

<p><strong>ABSTRACT</strong></p><p>  With global warming and fast urbanization in China, more and more climate services are urgently needed to manage climate-related disasters better, adapt to a changing climate, and ensure sustainable economic development for improving climate-related society’s resilience. This paper describes the current primary needs for climate services and introduces a series of examples of climate services successfully provided to agriculture, water, energy, urban planning, major engineering projects and ecological economy in China.</p><p>These examples of climate services indicate that climate services play a very important role for improving climate-related resilience and sustainable development of society. During the development and implementation of these climate services, both benefits of climate services and some challenges for climate services have been found. The paper highlights the experiences and challenges of these climate services as following:</p><p>Firstly, climate services should be tailored to each user individually and be usable. Therefore, providers of climate services should enhance service capability and service consciousness. Secondly, building of interdisciplinary expert team is very important. It can bridge and narrow the gaps in whole climate service chain. Thirdly, climate service quality, observation network, spatial and temporal resolution of climate model and climate prediction accuracy need to be greatly improved. Finally, the feedback of climate service from users is also very important for high efficiency of climate services.</p>